Christmas Eve Service

Tonight we gathered together as a family to remember what Christmas is really about! It was a very special service!  Alot of our church families were away. but, those of us who came together had a lovely time! And, one of my dear friends Monia joined us for the service!

Chris's Birthday

This morning we spoilt chris with bacon, croissants, eggs, mushrooms, and a hearty breakfast! Our friends actually cooked the breakfast while we took our tent down and packed up to head home.  Then we met up with the Hotchkin Family (Asst. D.S. for our district, and spent the evening with all of them having hamburgers at FAB burgers)  Chris works so hard here day in and day out running the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church, preaching, teaching, running Bible Studies, ministering to families! He is such a Godly Husband, Dad, and Pastor., And, I am looking forward to MANY more birthdays with him.   Thank you Chris for allowing God to guide, direct, and live through your life to everyone we minister to here in Australia!  We love you!

WE HAVE OUR VISA!!!!

We JUST RECEIVED OUR VISA!!  We are leaving to go camping this morning. But, thought we would check our email one last time before we left... And, there it was... our VISA! 

 We are now free to stay in Australia till November 17th 2013!!!!!!  This gives us an opportunity to turn around and reapply for our Permanent Residency. God is so Good! We have been waiting patiently knowing that whatever God had in store for our family was best! And, he has made it evident once more, we are right in the center of His will. and RIGHT where he wants us to be! Thank you to all our family, friends, prayer partners, and financial supporters for praying through this Visa issue. Our God is Amazing!  

Camping in Busselton

A family we have become friends with for 5 years, invited us a few months ago to camping with them. We quickly said yes, as to we have not been invited to do such a thing before with this family.   They don't attend our church, but their kids do come to Kids Club. Their children are the same age as Dawson and Makayla and we live three houses from each other. But, God is good, we were EXHAUSTED, from the previous week. But, monday we got up, quickly did some laundry, left our house a mess and jumped in the car for a 3 hour drive south to join this family for camping. It was a MUCH needed break for our family, we were at breaking point, but it was also a time for us to really share with this couple what Christmas was really about. The kids took their kids presents and we talked about the greatest present they would ever receive.   I received a Christmas card from my Dear friend the mother of these chidlren that will forever be special. "Dear Melissa,  "You are enriching the lives of our children with your teachings. We are blessed to have you and Chris as our friends!"  This family is close. Keep praying that God will show himself to this family.  One of my prayers in 2012 is that we get to see this family do a Christianity Explained course. 

Tonight was our church Christmas party! What a time to rejoice, because three families joined us for the service. Two of them were families we have brought through Christianity explained this year!  We had a wonderful service and then sat around a christmas tree having dinner and opening presents that we brought as a white elephant gift.   Apparently we have a gift that is going to keep returning, which is just "fun" for me. Growing up at the Avon Wesleyan Church we always had these love lanterns that seemed to always come back to the Christmas party.  Our seems to be a steering wheel spinner. But, Chris and I just are THRILLED with the fact that we are a big enough family now, and that we are all close enough that we can open a present like that and the WHOLE room bust out laughing.   Praise God for families and friends. Chris and I were also able to give out our Christmas gift to the church this year.   Months back we got a really good deal on Hershey's Kisses which are such an American treat. And, so each family got a bag of Hershey's kisses and a note that told them how much we appreciate them.   Merry Christmas!

Piano Lessons

On of the Ways Melissa has been reaching out into the community and building relationships with families is through piano lessons in 2011.  It started off as just a friendly guesture for the neighbour next door, three years ago.  At the beginning of this year, some parents from school were asking for lessons, and by the end of the year Melissa had 12 students and makayla and Dawson taking lessons.   We have built some GREAT relationships with these families, and God is working in their hearts.  Tonight we had  an end of the year recital. It was a special moment for us and all the families. The kids dressed up and each played a christmas song, and a personal song the child selected from their lesson book.  The kids played these songs they had never heard before! O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, O little town of Bethlehem, We three kings, While Shepherds watched their flocks american version) etc..  These children had NEVER heard these songs. But, the words were in their books, and they played them. And, we believe that God has planted seeds in these families. Parents were so proud of their children and it was a very special moment.  A dad who does not come to anything church, did come this evening to the piano recital, and he recorded it, and he was so proud of his son.  This boy was the one who played "O come, O come, Emmanuel". And, a seed was planted in his father's heart.  5 children finished their books and received Medalions for completing different levels, and certificates were given to all those who participated in the year.  Truly a special moment.

Dawson's Birthday

Dawson's Birthday

Today we invited every family from Dawson's class to a local park for an end of year picnic as well to celebrate Dawson's Birthday.   It was a fantastic party. And, Dawson was so happy all day long that he had friends to celebrate it with.  This is a huge leap for Dawson. Last year when we asked him who he wanted to come to his party he didn't list Anybody from his class. He didn't seem to have any friends. This year he is very plentiful of friends, and he seems to have calmed down a bit in the classroom. His report card was good and we are so proud of him. Can't believe he is 6.  Dawson had the choice between a party or a present and he chose a party. So, we had a baseball themed party, which he just adored Chris and I played games with the kids and had such a fantastic time! We may try to throw another picnic over the school holidays it was soooo much fun. And, all the parents stayed and picnicked as well. So, it was just a lovely time for us to get to know parents, chat, and share a moment of our life with all these people, so that we can start to build a relationship with them, and start to draw them to our Saviour. So, glad 6 years ago today, God blessed our family with such a fun, athletic, loving boy!

Landsdale's Got Talent

Today was the last day of school. And 4 weeks ago the school announced they were going to have a talent show on the last day of school. And, that students from yr 1- yr. 7 could participate.   The Kids Club choir is made up of all Landsdale students. So, they asked if they could sing in it.  The school gave a resounding yes. And, so we also let the kindy and preprmary kids sing as well. All kindy and preprimary teachers were very happy to let the kids come over and perform. They did a song called "Decking the halls" from the musical.   It was VERY appropriate and couldn't have gone any better. The chorus reads:
"Put away the books, hide the pencils and the paper,
all the school work, is gonna have to wait til later,
we'll decorate the ceilings, decorate the walls. That's what I call.
Decking the halls.

So, for it being the last day of school we couldn't have selected a better song. The song didn't push "Jesus" either so we wanted to make sure we sang something that would fit nicely without being over the top.

The school PA system didn't work properly so the kids had to sing accapella, (THEY DID AWESOME!), and then an announcement was made at the end of their song. But, their eyes were on me, and they followed and they did so well! The Music teacher at the school was really impressed and came up to me aftewards and had nothing but words of encouragement to give! So, it was a great moment for the first time we have ever done something during school hours.

Just as a side note. Makayla was also selected to play the piano at the talent show. She played "We're off to see the Wizard" and did a fantastic job. We were so proud of her!  She dressed up in a light bue

Helping in Dawson's Classroom
Chris and I spent today at the school helping in Dawson's class room. Something very cool happened!  Dawson was singing one of the kids club songs at school and his 4 friends that come to kids club were singing with him on the playground. So, his teacher asked them to sing it for the class. So, this afternoon we went in for their christmas program for the pre primary kids. And, Dawson and his four friends sang the song for all the parents. They were so cute and very proud of them for being such a great influence at school!

The Light Before Christmas
Tonight was our performance of the musical the light before Christmas. The Kids did a fantastic job! They memorized lines, they sang  6 songs!  The kids were fantastic and this was the first time we have done a musical with this group or anything close to one. We were so proud of them. But, the most important thing about the whole night was that the kids brought the true message of Christmas to their parents.  It was very clear from the beginning of us practicing at the beginning of the term. That the play was not about HOW WELL we did, but about how important it was for us to tell others about Jesus and what he can offer us if we open our hearts and accept Him. I was just so proud of them, they worked really hard to memorize everything.

Carols in the Park!

Carols in the park was a huge success. It was very stressfull as last year we had two people who helped us coordinate it and this year we were on our own. So, we have made a HUGE list of things we are going to get other people to do next year! But, it was a huge success! We had over 400 people at it.  We had community dance troop, and a local school choir sang, as well as our kids club choir, and we put together a band that did Christmas carols. There were some solos and chirstmas minute to win it games. By the end of the night Chris and I were exhausted! But, families came up to us afterwards and boasted about how this was their second year! And, they love it as much as the first, and they would be back the next year! Our Kids Club families and the John Wesley Church came up and helped us and it was a HUGE success!  Not becuase of what we did, but because God was there in control of the whole event!  Thank you to everyone we prayed We still do not have photos yet from the photographer. But, when we do! We will share them!

Please pray continually for the Carols in the Park. Basically I am three days behind and can't catch up because I still have Dawson home ,and I  want to give him all the attention he needs to get better! Pray that I find time to pull everything together as well as Chris does! Pray that Dawson has an incredibly quick recovery!

Dawson has come out of his surgery and is doing incredibly well. He is crying he wants to go home.. And, the nurse said as long as I promised to bring him straight in if there were any dramas then, I could take him home.   So, hopefully he will be alright. He is such a strong trooper! Feel really bad for him right now.. But, atleast he will be able to feel like starting to eat soon again!   He is a bit scared because the place was BUSY all day while we were waiting and now he has come out and no one is there but us him, and a nurse. So, he is just worried that he is still at the hospital!

Dr. has just come in and said that they are all willing to stay over the shift change and they will do his operation tonight! Am a bit scared.. They are taking 5 teeth... not 1! Because they are afraid that if they don't take 5 of them we will be back soon to have to have another one taken out. So, they are going to go on the safe side.  I am a little worried. 5 is alot! and, this could have been prevented if they had done the anaphylatic test a LONG time ago. We possibly could have saved these teeth! Also, worried because we don't have dental coverage... wonder how much this is all going to cost!!!! :(   So, at 7:00 they will take him.

Dawson is in the room prepped and waiting....,  and the anistesiologist has come in and said they made a mistake and we will have to take Dawson home and wait another day.  They booked the Dr, the anistesiologist, but we are booked for the OR TOMORROW!  :(  At this point I am going to do nothing but pray.. Dawson really needs this operation he is in soo much pain, and has basically eaten nothing in 4 days!  Praying that there is a miracle and they take him in. .....

Today we will go for the operation at 2:00pm. I am not that nervous but pray that he is okay with the general anistethic because they STILL have not done the anaphylatic test, so I am just a bit nervous he may have a bad reaction. But, hopefully all will go well.

STILL WAITING
Last night Dawson was in so much pain that he woke up like 8-9 times... So, we were very concerned about him. So, Chris rushed him back to the hospital to see if they could squeeze him in for the operation today.   He just called and said he is on his way back home and they have booked him in for an operation time tomorrow. :)  So, hopefully we can get him feeling better... :)

Please pray for Dawson

Over the weekend Dawson woke up with a really bad tooth ache. I knew it wasn't good. So, we took him to the dentist.  And, because of his allergic reaction in February when they gave him a local anistethic he is not allowed to have anymore work until they do the Anaphylatic test on him at the local children's hospital.  He has been wait listed since FEB for this test!)  So, they had me take him down to the chidren's hospital. At this time they told me they would operate and that they would put him completely under so Dawson and I sat there waiting from 8:00am to 4:30. At this time they sent us home saying they didn't have an opening and that we were waitlisted for an emergency spot if one opens up.  Dawson looked like a chipmunk and had been in serious pain since saturday morning.  and had barely eaten a thing all weekend. :(  The problem with wasting a whole day at the ER also is that we have the carols on Friday night and I have HEAPS of work to do, to prepare for it! :(

Melissa's Birthday

Today was my birthday and I felt very spoilt. I arrived at school to my friends who had flowers, and some gifts to share with me. I felt very spoilt. And, though I am a long way from my family. I felt very loved! I also got to chat with my twin sister for awhle which made my bday perfect! After playgroup a friend of mine picked me up and we went and got our nails done. It was her treat and I have only gotten them done once before... So, it was a special moment for the two of us. After all the pampering.. I taught a piano lesson and then went to dinner at Phil and Karen's! They cooked my favourite, Mexican. It was a LOVELY day! And, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Even though we are so far away from family. God seems to surprise me with exactly the right friends who know how hard it is for me to be away from my family and they seemed to spoil me, enough to distract me from the fact that I do miss my family! On a side note. These friends are people God is calling closer and closer to him. And, although they are just doing an "act" of kindness for me. I know that God has built a relationship between us, and that through my relationship with these ladies... He is going to call them to him! How cool is that! Still can't believe I am another year older!

American Thanksgiving in Australia

We had the wonderful privilege of using thanksgiving to celebrate with the Hotchkins ( a family we spend holidays with here in Australia, they pastor the inner city church) a few days early as well as on Thanksgiving day celebrating it with a group of friends that we are VERY thankful to have here in Australia. We were blessed with a wonderful evening of sharing why we were thankful and it was a great time for us to share with them why we were so greatful for each of them. Some of them come to church and some of them we hope will come in the future. But, the evening was lovely. Everyone helped cook the meal and brought "american" dishes such as corn pudding, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, ham, turkey etc. It was a fantastic evening.

Combined Church Service
Today we had our combined church service.  It was really crazy busy, but it was a wonderful turn out.  we had almost 80 people there and there was representation from 4 churches!   The kids club sang and did a wonderful job!  We had a special guest speaker. Our missionary Kay Fulcher to the Solomon Islands! She is such an inspirational speaker and God used her to touch hearts in our church! Thank you for al you rprayers.  If I can get it to work I will download a video of the kids club kids singing.  

Wesleyan Women Night Out!

Tonight we had our Wesleyan Women's Night out! There were 15 ladies who came together to hear Kay (Our Missionary to the Solomn Islands) speak about the Women of the Solomn Islands. The ladies were inspired and encouraged and it was a great night also t raise some extra money to go towards our camp next year! I will post pictures as soon as I get some from one of the ladies who took them! out of the 15, 8 of the ladies were from the Landsdale church, so I was very excited witht the turn out! :)

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our Visa.

We have been waiting for the immigration dept. to approve our "Nomination for our position" and for the immigration department to grant us a "briding visa". But, as of today November 16th, we still have not heard anything from them.  Our Visa currently runs out on the 17th at midnight.  After about 20 calls to the immigration department today.. We finally found out that if we had a "receipt" showing we had shipped our application and that it was received we are automatically granted it.   Luckily Chris kept a copy of the visa we mailed.  Because apparently the mail department is about 3-4 weeks behind. So, they may have our application, but according to their "system:" they haven't received it yet.   So, chris ran and photocpied another copy, one nighted it with a tracking number, and hopefully tomorrow we will receive word that they have it!

VISA PHYSICALS FINALIZED!!!!!
Today we FINALLY received our visa physicals back in the mail in an enclosed envelope. Now, we are not allowed to open them, but we do need to forward them onto Sydney with our VISA application today!  Chris's Physical is not with this group.. Because of his diabeties, he needs to have an appt. with a specialist and it is scheduled for next week. So, even though we paid $400 for the immigration department to look at Chris and say he is healthy. He still needs to meet with a specialist to make a final assessment of him, that it is "safe" for him to live here in Australia!   However, we will mail the rest of our physical and  Our application today and it  should get to Sydney in plenty of time!

VISA PHYSICALS!
This morning we will be getting our VISA physicals!   Pray that everything goes well and that when we are finished they HAND us our closed envelopes sealed and ready to go to the Immigration Department. As soon as we have these envelopes Chris and I can put in our Visa Application. And, we think we will be immediately "bridged" until they renew our current one! Please pray this goes smoothly!  God has so much in store here in Australia. And, we are right in the middle of the busiest time for our church! We are preparing for the Christmas Musical, and our Carols by Candlelight in the Park, and Satan is having alot of fun putting up road blocks. Pray for us that we woudl get renewed strength, and energy, and that we would see the VISA problems come to an end quickly.

Dawson's Passport!

Dawson's Passport came in, in 10 DAYS! Which we were very excited about. We were a bit concerned because CHOGM was going on in Perth. CHOGM stand for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It is a biennial summit meeting of the head of government from all Commonwealth countries. So alot of important people were in Perth. When Chris went into the City to get the passport. He could count 14 police officers from the second he stepped out of the car! So, needless to say Perth, was pretty much under lock down and we were very GRATEFUL they let us still come and collect the passport! God is so good! He has supplied everything so far just in time and just when we needed it!

Adult Night OUT!

Thursday night we had our first adult night out at the church. It was alot of fun. We had 9 adults come out and join us! We went and played laser tag. It was a fun time of bonding and getting to know some people we haven't done anything with before! We played team games, and then boys vs. girls. But, all in all it was a fantastic night for us to get out without our kids. And, it was a time for Chris and I to see if we could get people out for a church event even if their KIDS were not involved. So, we were very happy that 9 of us went out for the firs time! All the adults were raving about it and had alot of fun! so, over all I think it was a success! And, a right foot forward in building relationships with the parents of the kids who attend our kids club, and church tball team!

Permanent Residency Dissapointment

Unfortunately this week we received the news that the "sponsorship" the District applied for to the Australian Embassy was denied! Now, quite commonly the first one is denied. And, it is over a very silly wording in the application. We were said to work for Global Partners but, out contract is with the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia. And, because the Australian Embassy didn't understand how they work together, the application has been denied for now.

This causes a bit of a problem. In the fact that the VISA we are currently on is only good for two years! Therefore, it runs out on the 17th of November. The National Church, Global Partners, and us are all working together "Hand in Hand" and think we have come up with a solution! :) So, no need to worry, just NEED TO PRAY! We actually haven't lost any sleep over this drama, and are rest assured that God knows what he is doing, and that in all the efforts that have been put in here in Australia, it will all work out, and just bring Glory to God!

Solution: The National church already holds the "SPONSORSHIP" to our VISA, so they on Monday will turn in the nomination of Chris's name. We in the mean time have applied for our Medicals, Police Clearances, and are working on figuring out how to get our FBI clearance from Australia. In the mean time, Dawson's passport expired so we had to make a special trip to the US embassy in the city of Perth, to apply for a new one. Should be here in the next week. Then, also we needed new drivers licenses they had to be valid for the next lot of our visa, and are doing all the bit and bobs on this end! Our life all of a sudden became VERY BUSY!!!

All this to say. the first appt. they could get us in for physicals is the 3rd of November. So, as soon as we have had those we can THEN apply for our VISA! this is all getting very close to the wire. Pray that nothing gets lots and everything arrives on time! It is VERY important this falls into Place..

We have planned our calendars here in Australia right through to January. God has SO much in store for the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist church. We know GOD is BIGGER THAN all f this and it will fall just according to His way! Join us in Praying that this all comes through!

George Family in Australia update video October 2011

We have designed a video you can use in church services or in Sunday school, or view for your own personal viewing. In the following video are some pictures of a "few" of the ministries we currently are doing here in Australia on top of our weekly responsibilities of pastoring the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Church, church plant.

1. Go to http://www.dropbox.com/

2. Either create an account or sign in using ours.
Username: snickergeorge24@msn.com
Password: globalpartners1

3. Open folder titled 'Georges in AUS'

4. Right Click on 'George Update 2011.wmv'
and then go to 'download file'

5. Save to your computer.

If you have any problems let us know and we will try and help you sort it out.

Christianity Explained Course finished!

This past week we finished the Christianity Explained Course! The exciting news is that three of the ladies want to go on and complete the next book, "Belonging" to the Wesleyan church! How exciting is this! We ask you to continue to pray with us for Leanne, Carolina, and Debbie!

KIDS CLUB AWARDS NIGHT
Sunday night was an awesome night for the kids to share what God has been doing in their hearts over the past 10 weeks!

They have studied different ways we can praise and Worship God.
1. Reading our Bibles
2. Praying
3. Tithing
4. Singing
5. in all that we do, day in and out.

They did a short two week session on Honouring our Father and Mother.

and, then we started a series on serving our Family, Friends, and we are going to be going on next term and continuing this study.

Three kids were given an opportunity to share what God has been doing in their hearts.

Dana shared " God wants me to do Little things with Big Love!" And, not do nothing waiting for something "BIG" to come around for me to do.

Nikita shared- That God wants us to Honour our Father and Mother all the time in everything we do, and that we need to share Jesus with them.

Holly shared- That God wants her to Praise and worship him by praying to Him. And, that God cares about everything we do, even the good and the bad days, so we should stop and pray to him and thank him for all the good, and pray for help to face the "bad" things we face.

God is working in these kids lives. They sang three songs for their parents and performed with actions. They did "Let the Praises Ring", Follow you (Hillsong), and Take it all (Hillsong). They did an awesome job and then were rewarded with their badges!

In This picture are all the delegates who flew from Western Australia! How big of a change is this! 4 pastors, Phil's wife Karen, and then delegates from our churches.

District Conference Sept 22-25

This past weekend we had the privilege of participating our district conference. Since Chris and I are the pastors of the church plant here in Western Australia we are required to attend. But, for the first time every our church sent a delegate. And, this is EXCITING! We had a women who is the head of our LAC, Glynis who was willing to come with us. Not only did she come, but she brought her son as well, which was exciting.

To make this weekend work, much planning and organizing had to go into it. School was not out yet in Western Australia so, we needed to leave our kids here, as well as it cost too much money for us to take the kids with us. We had 3 families, and "Auntie Dana" ( The other Australian pastor Perth's daughter) watch the kids over the 72 hours we were in Melbourne.

Thursday night we all went to the airport only to be delayed three hours, while they towed a plane from the international to the domestic airport, because the first plane was not big enough. :) Then we flew 4 hours and landed in Melbourne. (Australia is about the same size as the US). Then we had to be towed in Melbourne because the plane was not parked correctly! :) Then we finally were able to go get a rental car and drive 2 1/2 hours to Phillip Island where the Conference was.

District conference is Different in Australia in the fact that we did Business, on Friday afternoon and evening, then we had a worship service. Business All day Saturday with a worship service at night, and and then on Sunday we had a worship service with ordination service, and then communion. IT was a very busy weekend with heaps of things to be doing.

We actually didn't get any free time this year, as we also voted in a new DS and did some other big pieces of business.

Sunday afternoon when the conference ended, we drove back to the airport and flew home! WE were exhausted, but met lot's of lovely people and were rejoicing with everyone over what God has done in the Southern Australia District.

The Southern Australia District covers all of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania! So, the district is over the size of 1/2 the USA!!!! That is why God has called us here to plant churches. In America we get in the car and drive 30 min. to district conference. and we are done and on our way within 4 hours.. Less time than it took us just to arrive where the conference was! God is Amazing, He is working through the South District, and people are being drawn to him here in Australia!

GIVING ERROR!

Recently we received a very dissappointing phone call from Global Partners. A Church that had been supporting us for 2 years with $300 a month, had phoned into GP. They had a new treasure and she was reading her receipt and realized that it read "George Family".
The family they were suppossed to be supporting was NOT us! For two years this church sent their money to our "MISSION" account. And, for 2 years, they thought they were supporting another family. We had phoned this church and sent thank you's. But, for some reason it never clicked that things weren't right. When GP brought this to our attention, we felt immediately the right thing needed to be done. It was one of the hardest things we have ever done. But, felt it was VERY IMPORTANT that we give back all the money to the correct family. In doing so.... We have dropped below the "dange line" in our fund account. This means that if we don't get our account above the "Danger Line" after two months, our family will have to come home from Australia and raise more support!

GP has been VERY understanding and is willing to stand with us and pray that God will bring these funds back into our account in a quickly manner. Basically it means we MUST have a month were twice as much as normal comes in! Will you pray with us, that God would speak to churches, financial partners, prayer partners, friends, and families hearts to support us in what we are doing here in Australia.

Honestly this has hit us harder than just giving back the $7200. It also meant we "LOST" a monthly partner who we believed was on our support team.

Would you join us in PRAYER?

1) Pray that we would pick up $300 more in monthly faith promise partners?

2) Pray that we would have an AWESOME month of giving and that our GP account would come back abover the "DANGER LINE"

3) Pray for Chris and I to be able to be diligent about raising support, WHILE serving God full time on the mission field. The time zones are totally different and it is not an easy task to get ahold of churches.

WE love you all greatly and covet your prayers! We believe this is a stumbling block Satan has thrown in our way! For the first time ever we have been in Australia for 22 months straight! God is moving, people are coming to Christ, the church is growing, Kids club is exploding with Kids, and we are on the verge of what God has in store for this church. SATAN knows that! OUR God is bigger, stronger, and mightier. Would you stand with us and pray for God to move in people's hearts to give to his work here in Australia, by supporting the ministry and our family.

In His Palm,
The Georges

We are STILL IN AUSTRALIA!!!!

Please pray for Chris and I as we start to phone churches and individuals and thank them for their support and remind them we are Still here in Australia serving God! This is the first time Chris and I are STILL in Australia being Global Partners Missionaries this long! We are STILL pastoring the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church Plant and being faithful to what God has called us to do! THIS IS EXCITING! :) We are so happy to be in the center of God's will for our lives. Every day we live here is a joy, honour, and blessing! We are so thankful God has called us here to teach his Word, Bring people to Christ, and bring up a generation of Adults, Children,and families who LOVE GOD with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength!

Another Busy Sunday

Today we had a really full on day. The church is sponsoring a kids tball team starting from October through to February. Chris will be the coach of the team. So, this morning we had a parent meeting to allocate responsibilities. Then the kids had two birthday parties for a family that attends our kids club.
Straight after the party we loaded up the car to head "South of the river" to a church plant in Harrisdale. Back in January we ran a kids club here and some movie nights. So, it was great to go back and see the people we had met! It was an honour and a privilege for Chris to preach down there. So, we drove 45 minutes down there, chris preached, and then we drove straight home to set up church this evening for our church!

Landsdale was very exciting tonight because we had a family attend tonight for their second week in a row. So, this was very exciting for all of us. As this week was not a "special" advertised night. It was just the "normal" us!

Christianity Explained
We have started a new session of Christianity Explained. Please pray for Carolina, and Leanne as they have committed to meeting with us every wednesday afternoon at 1:00. Pray for them to come to a point in their life where they are ready to make a decision to follow Christ! Our meeting are on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00pm. Which is 1:00am wednesday morning for you. So, if you could please pray before you go to sleep on a tuesday night for these ladies. That would be fantastic!

Brayden- Accident

For the last two days we have had Makayla on the couch with Tonsilitis. But, this evening Brayden was in the bathroom, (Suppossed to be sitting in the empty tub... waiting for his sister to get out of the shower, so we could fill the tub up) In the mean time he decided he was going to push a stool over and climb up on the counter. The only problem was, he had walked through water. So, when he got up on the counter and was making silly faces at his sister through the glass shower.. He slipped and fell into the shower, banging his he on the tiled ledge on the floor to keep the water in the shower.... Immediately he was limp, and non responsive. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, and immediately started wimpering. But, couldn't talk, or walk, and he had a massive lump. We rushed him to the children's hospital which took him immediately through the er, and straight to a ward.

He was checked hourly to see how he progressed after his concussion. He had a hematoma on the back of his head, and they were worried about the pressureit was putting on his brain stem..

Every hour, they would take his blood pressure, check his eyes, temp, and make him walk. Funny thing is, he was so out of it, when he woke up at the 7:00am check, this was the first time he said, where am I? and noticed there was a fish above his bed, even though it had been there all night long. :)

All in all. GOD is good and he kept Brayden safe! within 24 hours you couldn't even tell anything had happened to him. He still has a massive lump, and will for a few weeks.

And, when we got home, he was straight back to climbing again! :( So, hopefuly we can make it to three without a "cast"! But, he is a very energetic two year old!!!

Thank you to everyone who was praying and keeping up with us on facebook what was happening.

A very sad day...

Today was a very sad day. Chris and I have grown very close with a family here in Lansdale. They came on our church camp, they camped with us on Melissa's bday for a night, they have spent some wonderful special days with us. They have two gorgeous children, Their youngest, Melissa prayed a blessing for when she was born, and Their oldest is going to go to school with Brayden.

I tell you all this to ask you to pray for them. Pray for their family. Today we attended her father's funeral. This was a very hard day for us. He was too young to be burying. Yet, he had been withered away by Alzheimers, blindness, and some other health issues. For the past two years he had been in the nursing home. He was a devout Catholic, but from what we were told he LOVED Jesus. As we have been by this families side. God has been nudging their hearts, and it has been a very emotional ride. But, I write all this to tell you, that if you could please, pray for this family, we would greatly appreciate it. They want to raise their children catholic, yet they still love to participate in our church family. So, what I am asking you to pray for, is that we would atleast meet the need of whether they are a Christian and know Jesus. To be honest, that is the MOST important issue. I just want them to know JESUS. They can sort out the religion stuff later. But, as of right now.. They don't go to any church, but when they do... they come to ours. I pray that our church family would meet their needs and be a help in this time of sorrow and sadness.

Busy Sundays

Today Chris preached at the John Wesley Wesleyan Methodist church in Perth for their 10:00am service. It was a fantastic time for us to catch up with families that we haven't seen in a while.
We stepped down part time working at John Wesley when we returned 22 months ago, so that we could work full time at the church plant we pastor, The Landsdale Community Church. But, we still try once every couple of months to visit and catch up with how everyone is doing. However, Pastor Phil Hotchkin is in Papau New Guinea, so Chris will be filling in this week and next at the churches he pastors.
It was a lovely service. It was a fantastic time for us to worship without us having to be leading, and Chris delivered an excellent sermon on "Living the HD life". One of the scriptures he used that spoke to me was John 10:10 10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (NIV).

After the serice in the city, we quickly prepared dinner, and snacks, and threw our games in the car, and headed to church to have a family game day and church afterwards. One of my favourite moments was playing guestures with the kids and seeing all their crazy actions!

Although we didn't have the best turnout for the games night, we did have for the first time, people text and say they weren't coming and why! There were 6 families who couldn't come,and it was very exciting to know that they cared enough that they werren't coming to let us know... God is working in these peoples lives! And, he is working through us, I am just amazing that God chooses to use me on a daily basis to share Jesus with all these families here in Australia! It is truly amazing. And, it is only possible becuase of all the people who pray for us back home, and especially possible because of those who support us!

We so appreciate you, and the impact you have had on our ministry here in Australia!

UPDATE ON DAWSON

Dawson did a full day of school today and was very chirpy when I picked him up. So, he is definitely feeling much better. His pain is MUCH lower. His blood work came back and the Dr. made an appt. to see us ( but not till friday, assume this is a good sign!) , but said the test came back negative for glandular fever. So, I think that is a good thing! :) His lymph nodes have shrunk incredibly so the antibiotic is working!!! Would like to mention though, as of Saturday morning they had not changed in size at all. But, we asked everyone to start praying. And, by noon they had shrunk incredibly! God is good and he holds Dawson in his hands!!! Thank you for all your prayers.
Melissa

Please pray for Dawson.

Will you join us in praying for Dawson? After seeing a few Dr's At PMH ( Children's hospital in perth) and an ultrasound they decided Dawson has a viral infection in his lymph nodes .This is the cause of his swollen and lumpy neck on his right side. He will take antiiotics for 2wks and then they will review. I think the antibiotics are working because his neck seems to be shrinking in size. He has some lymphs that are as big as 2x5 cms. and they should be size of a coffee bean. He is in a large amount of pain, but doesn't act sick at all. Has been complaining for three weeks his neck hurt(thought he was just sleeping weird) , but was never sick or ill and still isn't. He has been given codeine to take at night so he can sleep through the pain, because seems to hurt most when he lies down. But, today he is running around the house like a crazy boy. So, honestly he doesn't seem sick. So, please pray that the antibiotic works. Dr. has run blood tests becasue he has had sever joint pain the last three weeks which we had thought he got injured and we didn't see it,( had xray on knee and was fine) but dr. thinks this might all be related. So, pray with us for a quick recovery! Taking blood from a 5 year old boy was the worst experience I have ever lived through. We tried for an HOUR, and got no where near the chair. Then went home got Daddy and came back to the clinic. Dawson sat on Daddy's lap, and all of a sudden became a big boy! He never screamed, in fact he laughed, and it was done and over in less than 2 minutes! So, apparently Daddy is the one of us who will go with the kids from now one if they ever have to give blood! :) Thank you for your prayers! They are much appreciated.
Melissa

Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church AGM

Tonight we had our Annual General Meeting. It was a night for our church to come together and Praise God for what he has done, and look forward to what he is going to do. Our District Superintend flew 4 hours to come all the way from Melbourne which is on the east coast of Australia to join us! Crazy eh? There were not many of us at the meeting, but God was there. Chris and I were able to give our annual reports and then discuss what we were looking forward to. As a church we have decided to best way for us to continue to grow is to connect people to the body and then see God work in their hearts. Chris and I also got some time to just sit and chat with the D.S. about the church, and our family, and we filled out PDP's and did some other reporting for the district. It was a wonderful and long day! But, a productive one, as we march forward with what God has in store for the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church. I have posted below Chris and mine's letters to the Church.


Dear Church,
I have been told recently by one of our city councillors that Landsdale is set for a sharp and dramatic growth in population. It is great to be a part of a community that is going through change and growth and excitement. As I thought about that declaration I got thinking about our church. I believe that God is preparing us as His church in Landsdale for a sharp and dramatic growth in influence and witness throughout the coming months. We have had a taste of this growth with the dramatic jump in our kids club numbers and the number of families interested in who we are and what we do.
This year has been challenging and rewarding in many different ways. We have struggled to break the attendance mark but the Lord has blessed those who join in worship each week. This year marked our first attempt at the Landsdale carols in the park and the evening was enjoyed by approx. 400 of our neighbours. Our Easter egg hunt attracted about 100 kids and again was one of our greatest opportunities for outreach. Movie nights brought out many of our kids club families and we grew in our relationships together.
We had the opportunity to work with an intern as he gained experience and course credit for Bethany Bible College in Canada. With his help our youth camp was a great success and we saw 12 teens camp for 2 nights in Dwellingup.
We have been on a journey through God’s Word and have learned a lot together through our sermon series’. ‘The God you’re looking for’, ‘The Book of James’, ‘The King of Hearts’, ‘From His heart to yours’ and ‘HDLife’ are a few of the series topics that we have been through together over the past year. I trust that God has used His Word to challenge you.
It is a great time to be a part of the Landsdale Community WMC! I said a few months ago that I believe we are standing on the threshold of an amazing moving of the Holy Spirit and I believe that now more than ever. Lets continue to scatter seeds in our community and trust the Lord of the harvest to produce fruit.
Let me finish by stating that I love you and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in and through you in the coming year as together we follow Him and serve Him in our growing community.
In His Palm,


Rev. Christopher George

Dear Partners in Ministry, 4/8/2011
This past year has been an astounding year! God has done so many amazing things and shown his face in the ministry of the Landsdale Community Wesleyan Methodist Church. I am blessed to be a part of what God is doing here and honoured that he has called me to work with all you wonderful people! Every day God uses you to bless me!
As Assistant pastor this past year I have been the director for Kids Club. It has been an exciting year with us starting with 15 kids and have worked our way up to 32. We are ministering to over 45 different kids and God is doing amazing things through them. In the Semester we had two mums sign up every week for snack and for helpers. This has turned out to be amazing and God is working in these mums hearts. I am excited about the new look and the numbers of parents helping. As a result Kids Club has become financially self sufficient for snack, and we are now ready to make a kids club committee that will be responsible to the LAC. The committee will help come up with fundraisers as well as ideas for family days. But, would need LAC approval for all decisions they would like to make .This potentially could take some pressure off the general budget of the church as well as get parents more involved in our Church.
Some special highlights for the Kids Club Ministry were:
1) 10 children Accepting Christ and 6 recommitting their lives at Holiday Kids Club
2) 4 Girls sharing their testimonies at the last Kids Club Awards Night.
3) 69 people in attendance at our last kids club awards Night!
4) Our first successful fundraiser for Kids Club at the Rollerdrome in Morley.

Although, I am the children’s and worship pastor at the LCWMC, there are a few other hats I wear that God has used me in this year.
1) I served as the Wesleyan Women’s coordinator for the past year planning a High Tea and the Women’s Camp. Both were successful and wonderful times of fellowship.
2) Organized the District Family Camp this year. With over 40 people attending from various churches. The exciting part for me was that we had 23 people participate in the weekend from the Landsdale church.
As I look forward to the next year I can’t wait to see what God has in store. Every day is a brand new surprise of what God has in store for our church and our family!

Respectfully,
Rev. Melissa George

Family Fun Day/ Fundraiser

God works in just astounding ways. Chris called the local skating rink to arrange a family skate day. When he was speaking to the owner he said that he would LOVE for our church to come and he would also like to offer us a deal! Now, chris at first thought maybe he would give us a $1 off or something. But the words that came out of his mouth were totally unexpected. The owner offered us to get into the skating rink for the normal price! BUT, he would give 1/2 what everyone paid back before we even left the rink in a check! This was the first time we ever did a fundraiser for kids club. And, God blessed us... 27 people came and skated (had a bit of a drama with the time it ran into some other sports clubs games like netball!) But, most of the kids had never skated before and we had a blast hitting the floor and spending time with some families. The highlights for us for the day were

1) a family from Makayla's class came and they have NEVER even come to kids club! So, that was exciting...

2) Also, a bunch of mums were thrilled and were asking if we could do more family days! (Which we do one atleast a month... so look like they will be getting more involved in our church. God is good! :)

3) DADS came!!!!!

Pray for these families in this picture!

Womens Camp

This weekend was our Womens camp for the District. As I am the director of Wesleyan Women for Perth, me and two other ladies worked very hard the last few months to pull off this weekend. Our goals were to bring in a guest speaker, get more young adults and teenagers (14+)on the camp, and get women to stay the whole weekend. God blessed us and our preparations. We had 16 women come and stay the whole weekend. We had 4 come and stay saturday- Sunday. and 1 lady come on saturday and Sunday. We were able to bring a guest speaker in from Melbourne. Mrs. Lyn Holland. She spoke on Birthmarks and Scars and it was just an incredile weekend for us women to learn to work through the way we are and the ways God has used us, pushed us, strengthened us, and blessed us!

The worship times were wonderful and the bonding times were excellent as we did a craft of "retro clipboards", and we did a short hike along the ocean which was beautiful. Some special moments for me I will highlight below:

1. Two teenagers came with me on the weekend! God is working in their lives and they so needed this bonding time to see that Jesus is JUST as real to them and he is to us WOMEN!
2. We were able to get 5 Young Adult women on the camp this year....
3. Playing games and building relationships with the ladies.
4. the speaker fit in SO well... It was if she knew us forever!
5. For the first time we have nominated an actual Wesleyan Women for the Perth area. Therefore it will not just be me and two other ladies doing the work, but we now have a team of Women who God has called to serve him and I am SOOOO excited to see what God has in store this year for the Wesleyan Women of Perth, Australia!
6. The weekend cost the ladies ALOT $180.00/ each. But, we were still able to take a LOVE offering and give the speaker a gift for the weekend.. That is GOD moving! He is amazing and he is living in these WONDERFUL women in Australia!
Pray for them! God has big plans to use them to touch other womens lives....

Kids Club Awards Night-Term 2
Sunday night was an amazing evening as we saw God move in an amazing way! We had the most people we have ever had at church! There were 67 people in attendance. (AND, we were missing 22 kids and their families!) We came together to giveaway two new badges to the children.
They earned their family badge and also their WWJD badge. This term the kids learnt many exciting things such as:
1) Honour your Mum and Dad
2) Serve your family
3) Obey your Mum and Dad
4) God looks at the heart
5) God loves us just the way we are
6) We should follow Jesus
7) We should be "right" in God's sight
8) We should turn to Jesus when we are scared.

During church 4 girls shared their testimonies of ways they lived out their "secret missions" for the week! If I can get video of this, I will download it.. Completely amazing to hear what they said." But, the girls hearts have been changed and are wanting to live their lives every day for Jesus. Afterwards the kids shared three songs.
Into the Bible
Hey, Jesus Loves me
and Rooftops! The kids were fantastic and were so excited to sing praise and worship!
Afterwards we donned the children with their new sashes and badges! It was fantastic!
After that Chris preached a sermon on living faithful lives to God in the midst of all of the little things. It was great to be able to share that they could live lives that please the Lord and they can live on a track that leads to God's fullness for them.

After the service we shared a family meal together that everyone helped provide!
IT was truly an amazing evening! This is God's hand moving in Landsdale! And, God is drawing these people to him! Pray that we will get these parents to participate in Christianity explained!

Below are some pics!

We have been meeting weekly with some friends and doing a Bible study called Christianity Explained. It has been going fantastic, but we are down to the last week! Pray for Chris and I as we answer questions and explain what being a Christian really means. Pray that God would speak to their hearts.

2) we have had 4-5 new families to kids club AGAIN! God has just been blessing the ministries we are doing. Pray that we can keep adjusting and finding help with Kids Club and that we are effectively communicating to the children. Pray that we are making the Bible stories understandable and life changing for these children!

3) WE just finished a huge craft that took the children 6 weeks to work on! They each made a heart pillow. We have spent the past six weeks talking about How good looks at the heart. We then went deeper and talked about God Loves us no matter who we are, God wants us to Follow him, We need to have a heart that is "Right" in God's "Sight" and, when we have tough decisions we need to make then we need to ask Jesus what to do. The Kids have been thrilled and I have posted below some of the kids with their pillows.

Christianity Explained!
Praise God tonight we started our Christianity explained course for the next 5 weeks. Three parents came from kids club! We are so thrilled that they are ready to start looking into what Christianity is! And, even more thrilled that these lovey people get to come into our home and we can share with them our lives. Please pray for these people that they would see their need for Jesus and understand that they need Him as the saviour of their lives!

Wesleyan Women High Tea
On Sunday we had our first ever Wesleyan Women High Tea! It was a wonderful afternoon of really good food! a few ladies brought sandwiches, savouries and desserts! The atmosphere was fantastic! The room was full of friends and then also people building friendships! There was also a special moment for me to share with the ladies a devotional. There were 40 of us that gathered. 22 ladies and 18 children ranging from 3 little bubs to teenagers! We had some special music. The Kids Club from the Landsdale church sang "This little light of Mine!" And, then Makayla, and two of her friends Emily and Nikita sang " Friend of God" . We also had a special music number sung by some ladies from the Inner city church. They sang some in their language and some of it in English . It was beautiful. Jesus had impressed upon my heart a devotional I titled, "Rejoice and live life up, like the beautiful “Princess", you are!" from the passage
Zephaniah 3:14-17
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
I brought three main points out:
1) Rejoice! You are forgiven princess! He accepts you just the way you are.
2) Rejoice! God is always with you!
3) Rejoice! He is delighted in you!

When I get picture back from the lady who took them, I will post them on here! But, thank you to everyone who prayed! I was trying to get this group of ladies together so they could mingle and get to know each other a bit. We will start advertising for camp this week! We are hoping to double our numbers this year. WE are praying for 30 ladies to join us on the Womens camp from July 15th-17th!

32 Kids at Kids club! two weeks in a row we have smashed our old time high of 25 kids at Kids Club! God is bringing more families to him and we are just amazed at what He is doing through us and in these families! God is just so AMAZING! In the pics below we are singing" Hey! Jesus Loves me and " Roof tops!"

Melissa

Today I had the opportunity to share with a lady I have barely spoken with. But, her daughter is friends with Makayla. And, today we were at the same party so I got to share with her all kinds of information about our church due to her opening the door and asking. She was VERY receptive and had HEAPS of questions. She come from a background that was not christian and was of another belief. . And, has recently decided there has to be something better out there. Please pray for this family. It is hard to choose to believe there is something more out there! But, God is a God of Love. And, pray that I am able to share His love for her and his joy for her! She is HIS daughter, pray that she would sense and understand and believe that she is a daughter of Christ and that Hehas so much more out there for her and her family! Please pray that she will come and visit Kids Club and also church.

Today was a total God day!
Today was a day that only God could orchestrate! We had 32 kids come to Kids Club! It was amazing, scary, stressful, perfect, awesome. God was there.. To hear the kids worship and praise God today was amazing! We had three new families come today and it was totally unexpected. But, God was there.. The craft we were able to work out, the snack we were able to work out, and God just amazed me. With all the staff today and extras there were 39 people in the hall, and to top it off everyone said they want to come back next week! The message at Kids Club was God looks at the heart. And, I am so glad God has given us a heart and a call to see these kids come to know who Jesus Christ is. I will record next weeks worship time and post it on here. Because To hear these kids sing "Yeah! Jesus Loves me!" Is just the sweetest sound I have ever heard. I was exhausted by the end, but so amazed by what God has in store for us.

When we finished we had kids that didn't want to go home. But, it was totally God working here today and I am sure it is because people are lifting us up in prayer and the ministry here, and the people here in Landsdale, Western Australia!!!! Praise God!

Christianity Explained!
This week Chris has been following up with people about doing a 5 week Bible study on the book Christianity Explained! So far we have two families from Kids Club that are interseted in doing it. Please pray that we would get a few more! But, this is a step in the right direction. And, we are excited that God has been speaking to these parents hearts! Pray that we would find a day of the week and time to effectively do it! And, whether we should put dinner on for all the families. It's hard to come up with something that will effectively accomodate everybody.

Coming home

This morning when I went back to the hospital, I found Chris still in a room in the emergency department. Apparently because they couldn't verify our insurance (because they didn't try), he had been left overnight. So, he was exhausted and tired. There were 23 beds next to each other with a curtain between and lights on etc. So, not really a restfull area. His specialist came in and said that if Chris's ketone levels got down to +1 they would let him come home. So, they ran new blood tests and by 1:00pm they let him come home. They never did find the infection (which is a concern) but, they said it must be a virus. So, in 10 days if he still feels ill they will run more tests. I want to thank you all for your prayers. He is suppossed to take it easy this week and rest. The church board gave him this week off. But, really that means he still has to prepare a sermon and do a few things. So, please keep him in your prayers. Again, thank you for your prayers. We greatly appreciate them!
God bless,
Melissa

Please pray for Chris this afternoon. at what would have been 6:00am your time. Chris was admitted into the hospital with mild ketoacidosis. He has been a type 1 diabetic since he was three. And, unfortunately when he gets sick, sometimes his body doesn't know how to cope. He was having chest pain, shoulder, neck, abdomen, and leg pain that was on a scale of 1-10 it was a 9. He was really struggling to make sense. And, so we went to the ER. He was taken in straight away, even though the waiting room was full. As of 1:00am tonight my time. they still did not know what was causing the infection. His white blood cell count was really high. And, they have started to bring down his sugars. Part of his sugar being high, was because he was in so much pain, he was vomiting. Pleas pray that he will rest tonight. He wasn't put no a floor yet, but I needed to come home at 1:00am because Brayden was still up crying at our friends house. Please pray that we will know how to get through this. Not, sure I can prepare a sermon in less than 48 hours with three children and a sick husband to care for. And, the family thatis our assistant D.S. is away for a wedding on the east coast. So, please pray that God will give me the guidance and strength we need to get through this. Please pray that the Dr.s will find the source of infection and that Chris will get rest and his body will start to heal. We appreciate your prayers!
In His palm,
Melissa George

Good Friday

Today we went to the Inner City Church- ( the one we used to work at.) and Melissa played the piano and we worshipped with the congregation for Good Friday. It was a good time for our children as Makayla is old enough for the first time to realize that Jesus suffered on the cross. She may have seen pictures and heard a million times. But, this was the year she realized that Jesus paid a price for her, and that it was not an easy price, but one of suffering and love for her!

Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Today was our annual Easter Egg Hunt.
It was a busy week as Chris and I had been preparing every evening after everyone went asleep. We prepared the crafts and organized food for what we were expecting was about 150 people.
Families in our church pitched in and helped. We had a sand cross necklace station, and a colouring contest station, a magnet station, and temporary christian tattoo station, jumpy castle station, and an egg decorating station, as well as the jelly bean guess where we got families information. and of course the Sausage Sizzle.

The afternoon went off without a hitch and despite the rain early in the morning the day was lovely and all three groups of kids got to do their Easter egg hunt as well as, we were able to do the egg toss. Afterwards the kids came inside and we read the Legend of the Easter Egg Hunt, and then we handed out awards. Truly was a lovely afternoon!

Straight after the Easter Egg Hunt we had our Palm Sunday Service. This was lovely because for the first time we had a few families stay from the Easter Egg Hunt! Truly an exciting moment for the families of our church who had been praying for this event! Chris's father has been here for the past two weeks and he shared from the word of God with these families. Which worked out perfect, because it allowed Chris the opportunity to meander and speak with families. And, took a lot of pressure off of him! Thanks Dad for all you did as well as Chris's Sister ran around with me collecting all the items and food, and helping organize as well!

Pray for Chris and I as we follow up with these families. And make an effort to connect them to our church and Kids Club.

You're prayers are impacting lives! Do know that God is moving here in these people. One of the families that attended our palm Sunday service has now been to church two weeks in a row! Pray that God would move in their hearts!

One of the difficulties of both Chris and I pastoring the church and always being incredibly busy on these days is watching our children. Luckily this year they had Aunt Melissa who came all the way from the USA to see them. She looked after them and they had a wonderful day!!!

Family Kids Club Day!
To close out Kids Club this term we had a family day. The Kids came after school and we had a great big party! We had a jumpy castle and every family brought snacks and it was a BEAUTIFUL afternoon of fun! Then, afterwords all the parents joined us and we had a movie night. Kids brought their chairs, and bean bags and sleeping bags and the families all brought their own dinners and we all sat around for a wonderful evening. My favourite part of the evening was sititng and chatting with the mother's. I especially got to know one of the mother's a girl who has just started coming to Kids Club for a couple of weeks. It was truly a special moment. I can't wait to see how God is going to connect and build a relationship with us and the Stamp family.

Term 1 Kids Club Awards Night

Kids Club tonight was a very rewarding evening for not just the kids, but for Chris and I . We were able to see the fruit of our hard work. We had 23 kids receive 46 badges. Not all of them were able to make the evening. But, none the less the kids shared with their families the special songs they learned as well as they received their badges. We focus this whole term on God! The Kids learnt- God created everything, God is Love, God is our friend, God is our Father, God is Holy, God is Powerful, and a few other topics about God. But, they also shared their main memory verse. Genesis 1:1. And, I was very VERY proud of them! We had a record number of Kids Club families come and we had three regular kids club families away for a wedding! So, God is moving in these families lives and pulling them closer to him! Praise God he works in even the smallest of us! Tonight I was reminded of just the fact that we ALL need to be like these children and have child like faith! For many of these families.. .Their children are the first generation Christian in their home! Praise God!

MACHINERY! ---not always helpful!

Today was a very busy day. It started off this morning with me trying to print off the badges I had created for the Awards Assembly. What I thought was going to be a VERY simple task turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. I think the devil was trying to smoosh his way into our awards evening for Kids Club. We had 23 kids who earned 46 badges! This is huge! And, God is AMAZING. But, God works in mysterious ways. With the help of a few families and getting the badges RE-printed. Praise God Chris's Dad and Sister were here and able to work the badge machine and get the badges finished in time for us to put them on the sashes and still hand them out at church on time! For some of these children it was their first time ever getting badges so it was a REALLY big deal! Praise God he looks after even the tiniest of details! PS. Chris's Dad and sister brought us this fancy machine in their luggage from the states! That is why I was a bit delayed in getting them done on time! :)

Today was an amazing day. We had three families ask us if they could purchase Bibles for their children. These families do not attend our church yet! But, they will! God is moving in their hearts! The kids have been making some fantastic Bible covers for their Bibles and I am very PROUD to say that every child in our kids Club has a Bible! And, a few parents are starting to mention that their kids want them to read them the Bible before they go to bed! This is God at work through the Kids Club Ministry we run here in Landsdale. God is hearing your prayers and moving these peoples hearts! Do be excited because this is new territory for our church and new ground. We have people eager to get their hands on the Bible God's Holy word. And, nothing speaks louder than His Word! Praise God!

This past weekend was full of 5 children's worship services, four adult worship services, and lot's of fun, activities, games and eating! All in all it was a ver busy schedule but, God was there and working in people's hearts and lives. And, God used Peter lam to speak to the campers on the weekend! Thank you for your prayers. I am going to post below some pictures and explain what people are doing in them.

Bottom Right: Phil teaching the children to play the Ukele. Top: Reciting a verse on Love for the Amazing Race. Top Right: Our tent is on the left, one of 10!

Playing games after the service. Each person would yell a letter to a word at the same time. Those in the audience would have to figure out what the word was. :)

Kids after the Chidren's worship. We focused over the weekend on God's Big Back yard. The kids learned to Serve Family, Serve Friends, Serve neighbours, Serve Community, and Serve Jesus! It was a fantastic weekend full of non stop action and was heaps of fun!

On the last evening we had turtle races. Chris and I cut wooden turtles and the kids, young adults, and adults, and families, got to design their turtles and race them. Was heaps of fun, but we were all exhausted from all the sunshine we had, had earlier in the day that we went to bed earlier.Everyone would pull on the string, and the turtles would move down the track.

God LOVES Fred!

This past weekend we had our family camp, and I will post on the family camp, But, first I want to share a story from this weekend! Fred is a young adult who attends the inner city church. Chris and I have met him a few times! And, we have had small talk in the past. But, on Saturday during the camp, we were playing "The Amazing Bible Race!" Very similar to the amazing race, just this was one that Chris and Darrek (our intern) had arranged for the families and camp attendees to participate in.

I believe some of our prayer partners we're praying for Chris and I on Saturday afternoon! Which would be very Early Saturday morning for all of our prayer partners!

About 1:00 we were to the last leg of the race, and each team had to have one member swim off shore to a pontoon "Dock" for swimming. Chris had swam out there and it was totally calm and like swimming in a pool. However, Fred jumped in the water for his team, and I was the next team up, so I (Melissa) was quick to follow him into the water. The Pontoon was probably 50 meters off shore. As I was swimming I came up and realized I couldn't see Fred in front of me anymore. I immediately stopped swimming and began treading water to look around, Fred was far to my left. He had gotten caught in the current and was being pulled out towards the mouth of the river, where the ocean and river meet.

I quickly turned an started screaming to shore, that no one else come out to the pontoon and that the current was too strong. As I looked at Fred he started to wave both his hands for help, then, one hand, and then he was starting to bob, and go under water. I all of a sudden was VERY afraid for Fred's life. And, started to swim as quickly as I could.

When I got to him he was underwater. Now, Fred is probably bigger than me, But, God is bigger than anything, and stronger than anyone and HE gave me the strength to pull Fred above water. I then continued to speak to him, and tread water for both of us, and tell him to calm down and try to float on his back, he was shaken and continued to wrestle a bit. I was "SCREAMING" to shore for help, and to a boat that was probably 10 metres away. But, the guys were just sitting there and not helping. In what seemed like forever to Fred and I , ( At moments, I was seriously afraid that I may drown as well, if no one helps... There was no way I was going to let one of our own young adults drown with out doing my VERY best, and I was more afraid of the fact that my kids were on shore watching! )

Luckily Chris saw we were in trouble, and he came out to help me pull Fred in. And, as Chris was ripping off his insulin pump, a lady on shore realized we needed help as well, and between the three of us, we were able to pull Fred to shore.

I say all this to say.. God LOVES Fred! God, was giving me the strength I needed to help Fred, I have barely had swimming lessons, let alone I have NO idea what to do to rescue someone drowning. And, God was speaking to me the whole time, telling me that HE was there, and He was going to hold, us up. In my "OWNNESS" I was afrai dand scared. But, when I was calling to God for help, He was speaking to Fred and I and telling us that we were going to be okay!

Today Fred is alive, not because of my actions, but because GOD was looking after us, and supplying us with the strength that was needed!

Fred, is going to be in Australia a bit longer. He is from Korea, and he said he will be in church worshipping God every Sunday! And, he is sooo thankful, God saved not just his physical life, but his spiritual life! Fred, had a head ache the rest of the day (probably from all the stress), and I had a belly ache from all the ocean water I swallowed. But, all in all we were totally fine!
God is good!